Drop forged return bend for oil stills



Dec. 15, 1931. F. E. KEY 1,836,257

DROP FORGED RETURN BEND FOR OIL STILLS F le y 26. 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 15, 1931. W Y 1,836,257

DROP FORGED RETURN BEND FOR OIL STILLS Filed May 26, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 32 F32. 56 g; F33 37' 38 j 56 m 4/ k 52 55 /6 ig? 4g 46 /4 5 g i WVZATO/ Dec. 15, 1931. F. E. KEY 1,836,257

DROP FORGED RETURN BEND FOR OIL STILLS Filed May 26, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 V with the cap therein and the Patented Dec. 15, 1931 UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE FREDERICK E. KEY, OF EAST ST. LOUIS, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO KEY BOEEB..FIQUIP- MENI 00., OF EAST ST. LOUIS, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF MISSOURI DROP FORGED IR.ZE'.I.U.R1 I BEND FOR OIL STILLS Application filed May 26, 1927. Serial No. 194,310.

My invention relates to improvements in drop forged return bends for oil stills and has for its primary object a drop forged bend which is adapted to surround the tubes of an oil still at a point spaced inward longitudinally from their ends and which drop forging is provided with a passageway so that two tubes secured in the forging can communicate with each other thereby making a coil through which the oil to be distilled or the gases arising therefrom can freely circulate.

A further object is to construct a return bend for oil stills in which the casing surrounding the tubes of'the still is relieved from all strain except expansion strain.

A still further object is to construct a drop forged return bend for oil stills in which all of the longitudinal strain exerted by the expansion of the oil or gases is absorbed by the tubes, none of it being placed on the drop forging. I

A still further object is to construct a drop forged return bend for oil stills which is so constructed that none of the corrosive action of the gases or ingredients of the oils being distilled will act on the forging.

In the drawings: I

Fig. 1 is an end view of a drop forged billet preferably of the pierced type;

Fig. 2 is an end view of the same after the same has been bored for the insertion of the d boring bar;

F'g. 3 is across section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1 showing the boring bar in position and ready to cut the passageway between the pierced openings;

Fig. 4 is a vertical cross section illustrating the manner of rolling in the sleeve in the communicating passage; I

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the tubes and sleeve in position, one ofthe tubes being shown completely finished and other tube prepared for reaming the cap seat;

Fig. 6 is an end view of the bend showing the chaser die in position;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 4 with the sleeve omitted;

- Fig. 8 is a view of the yoke employed for forming the cap seat Fig. 9 is a View of the yoke employed for securing the cap in position;

Fig. 10 is a top plan view of the cap; and

Fig. 11 is a view illustrating the manner of securing the various pipes in the construction of the still in the return bends, the caps and the securing yoke therefor being omitted.

In the construction of my device I employ a billet 12 which is preferably of the pierced type and has openings 13 formed therein during the forging. The shape illustrated, however, does not in any way add to the practicability ofmy device as it may be made rectangular or shaped as illustrated in Fig. 1. After the billet has thus been formed it is placed in a suitable jig not shown in connection with a drill press and openings or bores 14, 15 and 16 are made of any suitable size. After these bores have been formed, I

place sleeves 17 and 18 in theboresl i and 16 respectively. After these sleeves have been placed in position a boring bar 19 is inserted so as to extend through the sleeves 17 and 18 and through the bore 15. The boring bar 19 is provided with a transversely extending slot in which a cutter 20 is inserted. This cutter is preferably secured in position by means of a wedge or key 21, the sleeves 17 and 18 serving to steady the bar 19. After the cutter 20 has been secured in position, the evice is again placed in a drill press and the opening 15, which has been previously formed in the wall 22 dividing the bores or piercings 13, is enlarged or cutaway as indicated'by dotted lines in Fig. 3. After the wall 22 has been thus cut away so as to form the passage 23, the wedge or key 21 is removed thus releasing the cutter 20 which is then also removed so that the bar 19 can be withdrawn. A sleeve 24, which is preferably formed of chromium or similar material, that is a material which is acid resisting and which also has a high fusion point, is inserted. This sleeve, however, is 0 lesslen h than the diameter of the openings 13. A ter the sleeve has been placed in position an expander head 25 is inserted through one of the openings 13. This expander head carries rollers 26, which are held in position and against collapse by any suitable means. This means for holdin the rollers against collapse does not in itself form any part of my invention and, therefore, will not be described in detail. The head 25 has a thrust collar 26a, carried thereby either by being formed integral or separate therefrom.

After the head 25 has been inserted in the sleeve 24 a mandrel 27 having a tapered end 28 is inserted in the head through the opening 14. See Fig. 4. The mandrel is provided on the end opposite the taper 28 with a wrench or operating engaging surface 29 so that the mandrel can be rotated and by rotating the mandrel the rollers 26 will be expanded, the amount of expansion, however, of these rollers being governed by the collar 30 formed integral with the mandrel 27 so that only a predetermined amount of expansion of the rollers can take place. This is essential because if chromium, which is known to be a brittle metal, is used, too much expansion cannot be employed because there would be a tendency to crack the sleeve 24.

After the sleeve 24 has been rolled in position, the openings 13 pierced through the billet are reamed out so that in the event any elongation has taken place in the sleeve 24, this elongation will be trimmed ofif so as not to interfere in any way with the insertion of the tubes 31. The tubes 31 have their ends 32 projecting beyound the billet 12 and these projecting ends are screw threaded as indirected by the numeral 33, the amount of projection of the tubes being controlled to a great extent by the pressure under which the device is to operate.

It may also be preferable in the construction of my return bend to cut grooves 34 in the billet so that when the tubes are inserted and secured therein by means of a flue expander, the metal on the outside of the tubes will be forced into these grooves thus acting as an additional seal and preventing any leakage of gases along the seat or bore 13 after it has been finished.

During the expansion of the tubes 31 there is always a possibility of the screw threads 33 becoming distorted and in order to correct this I employ a chaser die 35 which is to be passed over the screw threaded portion after the tubes have been seated in the billet. In this connection I wish to call attention to the fact that the bores or openings 14 and 16 are closed by the walls of the tube. This is clearly illustrated in Figs. 5 and 7. Inother words, these openin s are merely for the purse of permitting t e insertion of the boring bar 19 and the mandrel 27, otherwise they perform no particular function.

After the tubes 31 have been placed in position and-the chaser die has been passed over 1 the threads33, I next proceed to form the cap seat on the projecting end of the tube. In doing this I employ a collar 36 which slips over the tube. I then secure the yoke 37 over the screw threaded end of the tubes 31, the collar 36 permitting me to screw the yoke tightly so that any urther riding upon the threads 33 will be prevented.

Before securing the yoke 37 on the tube the tapered reamer 38 together with the shank 39 is inserted through the screw threaded portion of the yoke, this reamer being of less diameter than the screw threaded portion will readily pass therethrough, and prior to passing the shank and reamer through the yoke, the thrust collars 40 and 41 are also placed on the shank 39. The yoke is then screwed tight against the collar 36 and then the feed sleeve 42 is passed over the shank 39 and screwedinto the boss'43 carried by the yoke 37. It will be noted from Fig. 5 that the feed screw 42 is provided with an enlarged collar 44 which is preferably provided with openings 45 into which a bar 46 is inserted for feedin the said sleeve through the screw threaded oss 43 as the reamer 38 removes material from the interior of the tubes 31. The shank 39 is provided with a surface 47 by means of which it can'be readily attached or secured in a chuck or other rotating means so that the reamer can be rotated.

After this assembly has been made the sleeve 42 is screwed down so that the reamer 38 enters the tube 31. Then power is applied to rotate the shank 39 and as the reamer cuts, it is gradually fed down into the tube by rotating the said sleeve 42 until such time that the seat 48,is formed. After this has been done the reamer is backed out by backing the sleeve 42 and then the yoke 37 and collar 36 removed.

When this has been done a cutting torch or similar cutting tool is inserted into the tube and the opening 49 formed, this opening communicating with the sleeve 24. Another tube is then inserted in the other opening of the billet and treated in the same manner. In this way both tubes carried by the same billet communicate through openings 49 and the sleeve 24 so that oil or gases passing into one tube can pass to the other tube through'the sleeve 24.

After the opening 49 has been cut in ad- 'ac ent tubes a yoke 50 is secured in position y screw threadin it on the screw threads 33. A cap 51, which 15 provided with a tapered surface as illustrated in Fig. 5, is then placed in the projecting end of the tube. This cap is provided with a recess 52 into which the end 53 of the screw 54 fits, the screw 54 passing through a screw threaded boss 55 carried by-the yoke 50. The cap 51 is also provided with projecting ears 56. These ears are for the purpose of the insertion of a lever so that the cap can be pried loose after the screw 54 has been loosened.

- In Fig. 7 I have shown a modified form in which the sleeve 24 has been omitted but to all intents and purposes this construction is corrosive gases will act on the billet. It will also be noted from Fig. 5 that the opening or openings 49 in the tubes are of the same diameter as the interior of the sleeve 24 so that the ends of the sleeve will be protected or have the tubes 31 roll tightly against the same thereby preventing to a great extent the creeping of any corrosive gases between the sleeve and the billet thereby prolonging almost indefinitely the life of the billet.

It will also be observed from Figs. 5 and 6 that that portion of the tubes 31 at each face of the billet are slightly enlarged. This is due to the fact that the expanding ressure commences in the tube slightly be ore the tube enters the billet and extends slightly beyond the other side of the billet when the expanding pressure is completed. This enlargement or enlarging serves further to tighten the tubes in the billet.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim is I a 1. A drop forged return bend comprising abillet having parallel openings therethrough, a passageway-for connecting said openings intermediate their ends, tubes secured 1n said openin s and projecting beyond both sides of sai billet, said tubes having openings in their walls co-inciding with said passageway, a removable cap for closing an end of each of said tubes, a yoke carried by said end of each of said tubes beyond said billet, and means carried by said yoke for holding said cap in position.

2. A drop forged return bend comprising a billet having parallel openings therethrough, a passageway formed in said billet for connecting said openings intermediate their ends, tubes having screw threaded ends secured in said openings, said screw threaded ends projecting beyond said billet, saidtubes also having openings in their walls co-inciding with their passageway, a removable cap adapted .to be mserted in the ends of said tubes for closing an end of each, a yoke carried by the screw threaded end of each of 4. A drop forged return bend comprising a billet having circumferentially groove parallel openings therethrough, a passageway formed in said billet at right angles to said openings for connecting the same intermediate their ends, tubessecured in said openings, said tubes having their ends projecting beyond said billet, screw threads formed on the projecting ends of said tubes, a yoke carried by the screw threaded end of each of said tubes, a cap adapted to project into an end of each of said tubes for closing the same, and a screw carried by said yoke, said screw adapted to be brought into contact with said cap for holding the same in posi- 1 tion.

In testimony whereof I have aifixed my signature.

- FREDERICK E. KEY.

cured in said openings, the screw threaded ends projecting beyond said billet, said tubes also having openings in their walls co-inciding with said passageway, a yoke carried by the screw threaded end of each of said tubes, a cap extending into each of said tubes for closing an end of the same, and means carried by said yoke for holding said cap in position. 

